Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 1, Episode 10 - There But for the Grace of God - full transcript

You know what I think?

I think you just did
your best work yet.

I was good, wasn't I?

If I could keep those two
together, I can do anything.

Well, don't get carried away.

Oh, I'm not getting
carried away.

It's just, I think I've learned
the tricks of the trade.

There are no
tricks to this trade.

Caring and hard
work and more caring,

that's what we're here for.

But can't I take
pride in what I do?



Remember, my darling,
"pride goeth before the fall."

What kind of work do you do?

I could use some help

laying carpet with
a power stretcher.

I don't think so.

My knees are shot.

You think maybe
it's that attitude

that got you here
in the first place?

I'll never understand

how people let
that happen to them.

You will.

How?

This man is your
next assignment.

He is?



He is.

Okay, so am I going
to volunteer at a shelter

or counsel the homeless?

None of the above.

Then how am I supposed
to help him, then?

Well, baby, the only way
to share this man's pain

is to share his pain.

Oh, no.

Let me help you with your coat.

♪ When you walk down the road ♪

♪ Heavy burden, heavy load ♪

♪ I will rise ♪

♪ And I will walk with you ♪

♪ I'll walk with you ♪

♪ Till the sun
don't even shine ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Every time, I tell
you I'll walk with you ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Believe me, I'll
walk with you. ♪

Yes.

Oh, yuck.

Hey!

What are you doing here?

Oh, you startled me.

Hello.

What are you doing here?

Well, I was just
looking for something

to keep me warm.

This is my alley.

Your alley?

Yeah, my alley.

This is my van, my
dumpster, my alley.

Oh, please, you see, I
found one glove and...

Let's see what we got in here.

You've got to pardon the mess.

It's the maid's day off.

Okay.

Lighter.

And... comb.

I don't know what that was.

Here's the glove.

Yes.

Hey, hey.

Oh, man.

My lucky day.

In a manner of speaking.

Are they... are they gonna fit?

Size ten.

Close enough.

Oh, yeah.

These are great.

Haven't seen you
around here before.

I'm not from around here.

Me neither.

Where are you from?

Someplace else.

This is where I get off.

There's a mission
on Flower Street,

about two blocks up.

You can't sleep there
except in bad weather,

but they'll feed you.

Oh, thanks.

I'll see you there?

No, no, you won't.
I'm not homeless.

I'm saving up to
get my van fixed

so I can go to Colorado.

I'm sorry, I thought...

Yeah, well, my clothing
budget isn't what it used to be.

It's all going to the van.

Listen, I got to go.
I got to get to work.

Okay.

Oh, wait.

Your lighter.

No, keep it.

Maybe you can trade it for
something else you need.

You know?

That's how it
works on the street.

Thanks.

Tess.

Hello.

Don't you "hello" me.

Your assignment
just walked away.

Oh, no he's going to be fine.

He's got a job.

He's got a good
head on his shoulders.

He's got a plan to move on.

I think he's going to make it.

Is that Monica, the
angel, saying that?

Or is that Monica,
I'm-cold-I'm-hungry-give-me

back-my-coat, saying that?

What did I do wrong?

You took the easy way out,

just like everybody
takes the easy way out.

You found a reason
not to get involved.

He doesn't need me.

Wrong.

He doesn't want to
need you or anybody else.

His self-esteem may be
shot, but he's still got his pride.

And what am I supposed
to do about that?

Don't you raise your
voice to me, Miss Wings.

You've got a little pride
thing going on yourself.

I'm sorry.

I don't know what's
happening to me.

I'm cold, I itch.

I think I even feel hungry.

Tess, I don't feel much
like an angel anymore.

Your assignment's
not to feel like an angel.

It's to feel something
else altogether.

This man, Pete, he's a fighter.

But he's been hit
too many times,

one blow after the other,
too hard and too fast.

And the next blow
could put him down

and keep him down.

And then pride is not
going to help that...

not his and not yours.

You'd better hang
on to that lighter.

You're going to need it.

Lighter.

Where did I put the lighter?

Oh, there it is.

Hey, lady, look out!

Oh, no.

I'll get it.

Thank you.

Thank you. It-It's
very important.

Yeah, well, if
it's so important,

give me a dollar for it.

A dollar?

I don't have a dollar.

I don't have anything.

You got gloves.

Oh, no, not my gloves.

No gloves, no lighter.

Well, there's just one lighter.

I'll give you one glove.

Which one?

You choose.

Right.

Deal.

Pleasure doing
business with you.

Drink?

No, thanks.

You know, this is silly.

Why don't I give you
the other one, too?

No, you keep it, sweet lady.

A deal's a deal.

Later.

Move away.

I don't need that done.

So that's what his job is.

Don't let them catch
you talking to yourself.

That's exactly what
they're expecting.

Hello.

My name is Monica.

What?

I'm Monica.

I'm Sophie.

Have you ever been to Dallas?

Sorry. Texas? Watch
where you're going!

No, I never have.

Likely story.

Well, somebody assassinated him,

but nobody's ever
been to Dallas.

People lie.

What are all these books?

Research and evidence...

Theories and
responses to theories,

diagrams and random notes,

witnesses, suspects.

Are we talking about the
Kennedy assassination?

What do you know
about it all of a sudden?

I don't know anything,
I just heard about it.

Do you know what
the temperature is?

No, I don't.

43 degrees.

If you don't know
how cold it is,

you don't know how cold to be.

Okay, she'll be all right.

I'll take care of her.

Enjoy it.

What is it with you?

Are you the good Samaritan?

Every time I turn my back,

you've got some loser
here giving him handouts.

Come on, leave it alone.

I'm not giving him handouts.

He works for it.

He sweeps.

What, you think I just
got off a turnip truck?

I've seen him eyeing
the cash register.

Next thing you know,

one of them will bust
in here and clean us out.

See, he's not that way.

Hey, I thought we don't
eat dinner in this house

until we give thanks.

For all we eat and all we wear,

for daily bread and loving care,

we thank thee, Lord. Amen.

Hello. What are you doing here?

I have no place to go.

Well, find one.

I don't want you
hanging around me.

I don't want you hanging
around here, either.

If you're going to
live on the streets,

you got to learn to
live on the streets.

You can't count on anybody
out here, not even me.

I'm going off to
Colorado any day now,

so just leave me alone, okay?

But I thought homeless
people looked after each other.

I'm not homeless. I
told you I'm not a bum!

Do you do this every morning?

Doesn't everybody
start off the day

with a newspaper
and a cup of coffee?

Look, I-I came to say
something, and then I'll leave.

You can skip the say something
and get right to the leaving part.

Pete, I didn't mean to suggest

you were a bum.

I don't know how you
could even think that.

Pete, wait.

Pete!

Pete.

So that's his name, huh?

You know, I see that man
every day, never knew his name.

I never knew he had a name.

Lots of people out
here don't, you know.

I have a name. It's Monica.

Well, hello, Monica. I'm Zack.

That's my glove!

Ah. You're the lighter lady.

It's good to meet you.

Come on, lady!

Get out of the road there!

What are you doing?!

Hey! Hey!

Come on, man!

Come on, move it, will ya?

Hey! Hey, are you crazy?

You want to honk at me?!

No, no. It's all right.

Oh, oh, oh... Thank
you. Thank you.

Go back to your cardboard box!

You okay? You okay?

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

You ever been to Dallas? Yeah.

You have?!

Yeah. You have?

Oh...

Come on. I'm gonna take
you kids for something to eat.

I recognize everyone here.

You know, they're regulars.

We're like one big family.

A big family where no
one speaks to each other.

Sounds like my family.

Do you sleep here, too?

Can't... no overnights

unless it goes below 35 degrees.

Then Tom... He's the
manager, nice boy...

Tom gets me a nice,
special cot downstairs,

for obvious reasons.

Which obvious reasons are those?

Well, the beds are upstairs.
I can't sleep upstairs.

Why?

Why? Why?

Do you know how many people

involved in the
Kennedy assassinations

ended up pushed out of windows?

No.

Well, let's just say
it's disproportionate

to the public as a whole.

That's a really
interesting ring.

Mm. USMC.

You're a Marine?

Well, I'm not on
active duty, but, uh,

you know, as they say, once
a Marine, always a Marine.

I was in Desert Storm.

You're lucky...
you made it back.

Yeah...

I made it back all right.

After we've finished, I'm
gonna go and find Pete.

Pete? Mm-hmm.

He's a friend of
mine. Well, sort of.

He washes windows.

You know, he always carries

a gray tote bag
everywhere he goes.

Well, that narrows it down.

He keeps the van
outside of Gus's place.

Yeah.

Oh... I'd like to debrief him.

Oh, no. My van!

Oh, no.

Gus?

Gus! Gus!

Ma'am, what happened to my van?

Gone. Junked.

Probably flatter than a
pancake by now, thank God.

Where's Gus?

Gus went to visit his
sisters for the weekend.

And now, what I say goes,

and I say what goes is that van.

Oh, no.

No! There will be no
more dinners, either!

If you get hungry,
get a job, you bum!

Promise me, Pete.

Promise me we'll go to Colorado.

I promise.

His van is gone.

Oh, dear God.

God can't hear you down here.

God can always hear you.

Well, maybe he's
just ignoring us, then.

Well, we need to
take him somewhere.

All right, I know
a place. Come on.

I heard about this place, but I was
always afraid to come by myself.

Sounded dangerous. Oh, it is.

But it's also dry and
almost warm. Come on.

All right, we'll be okay

if we just lay low here.

Excuse me, have you
ever been to Dallas?

Hey, hey, hey, it's
okay, buddy, it's all right.

Sophie, you can't be doing
that down here, all right?

Now, I've got to live
with these people.

All right, here we are.

Pete, do you need any help?

No, just leave me alone.

Why don't you lighten
up a little bit, man?

Man, why don't you just
mind your own business?

Well, if I minded
my own business,

you'd be sleeping outside.

I mean, you think you're the
only person whose feet hurt?

Everybody's feet hurt out here.

All right, that's not
helping anyone.

Zack?

Is this... is this where you...

is this where you live, stay?

Yeah, a couple of my
buddies from the corps

turned me on to this place.

You know, truth is, when I
came back from the Storm,

this really seemed
the only place

that felt right to live in.

What do you mean?

Nothing that happens
in basic training

prepares you for what
war is really like, you know?

We saw some bad stuff,

some really bad stuff.

You know, one day,
y-you're eating sand

and breathing gas and...

watching yourself kill
people you never even met.

And then the next day,
you're sitting at home

reading about yourself
in Time magazine,

eating a Big Mac.

Oh, it's too weird.

You know, life
changes, just like that.

You just don't feel
like yourself anymore.

I know that feeling.

But of course,

and you talk to
yourself, too, dear.

You got to work on that.

Yes.

And what brought you
to these parts, Sophie?

Well, that's privileged
information, but...

I can tell you this much...

After my work
here is finished...

uh... uh... uh...

We'll... we'll all have to
make great sacrifices for truth.

Do you have a family?

That's privileged information.

What about you?

Well, actually, one morning I
was wearing a beautiful coat

and by nightfall, I was
sleeping on the ground.

Yeah.

That happens.

Pete, you have to see a doctor

about your feet.

You know, you really
have to leave me alone.

Police!

Everybody freeze!
This is a raid!

Ah. Whatcha got there?

You won't be needing that.

Arms up. Arms up.

You got nothing to hide, you
got nothing to worry about.

One at a time.

Okay.

Arms up.

I said, arms up.

He's not well.

Yeah, I've had a cold myself.

Arms up, pal.

All right, let's
have the tote bag.

No.

Pete, give him the bag. No.

I need some help here.
Just give him the bag, Pete.

No!

Come on! Come on!

Please! No!

You guys didn't have
to do that. Shut up!

I want you to know

I'm taking your badge numbers.

What the hell is this?

"Julie Taylor.

"D.O.D.

2-2-9-4."

My Wife. It's her ashes.

It's Julie.

It's my wife!

Five more degrees, and
they'll open the shelter.

You feel those feet yet?

Listen... it doesn't
take away the pain,

but, uh, you don't
care about it as much.

No.

Thanks.

Okay.

Let's find something to burn.

Hey!

Sorry. I'm so sorry.

I'm trying to sleep in here!

I just love a good fire.

Still got that lighter?

Oh, yeah.

If you're gonna
go for a real fire,

I... I don't know,
that's kind of risky.

Oh...

Maybe some, uh, paper.

Kindling or something.

Well, I don't...

There's that file from
'75 on J. Edgar Hoover

I'd just as soon not be
caught in possession of,

under certain circumstances.

This could just blow the roof
clean off the Warren Commission.

Look at that.

Well, make good use of it.

Get those tootsies
nice and toasty, hear?

Where were you in '63?

1963?

September, October.

November?

Uh... fifth... no,
no, sixth grade.

She always used
to tease me because

she wore a wedding
ring and I didn't.

Truth is, we could
only afford one ring.

We were going to get
me one someday, but...

now I'm kind of glad we didn't.

I might have had to hock it.

What happened to Julie?

She died last year.

Savings and Loan went down
and took my business with it.

We lost our health insurance,

and then a few weeks later,

Julie started
feeling sick, but...

by the time anyone knew
it was cancer, it was...

it was too late.

So, I-I stayed home
to take care of her.

Threw a bunch of
medical bills in a drawer,

and by February, I lost
the house... and my wife.

She-she got me off booze.

I haven't had a drink

since the day she said,
"Yes, I will marry you."

She had enough
faith... for the two of us.

Always talking about
us going to Colorado,

starting all over again.

She made me...

made me promise that
I'd, I would go even if...

even if it was without her.

She was the only
family I had, so...

I, uh, got in the van
and... headed west.

And then it-it broke down.

And then... it
got... towed away.

And uh... and then...

There but for the
grace of God, why?

It's 34 degrees.

Hallelujah. The shelter's open.

Put a hot brick in the sheets.

Sophie's coming home.

Yeah.

Now, have you ever
spent the night in a shelter?

No.

Well, brace yourself

and make sure you
stick with Sophie.

Pete, are you coming?

I told you, I don't
go to shelters.

If you stay out
here, you'll die.

So?

So, you still have to
take her to Colorado.

Come on, now.

I got something for you.

Don't be shy, don't be shy.

I'm selling, you're buying.

I'm selling, you're buying.

I got something for you.

No? Okay.

I got something for you.

Don't be shy. Don't be shy.

I got something for everybody.

Hey, you need anything?

Blankets? Cigarettes? Shampoo?

No.

Listen, it's ten percent
cheaper out here.

Once you get inside and
the temperature goes higher,

so do my prices.

Get lost, Ox.

Hey, I got something
for you, too, Marine.

Don't worry.

How much?

How about that ring?

Not on your life.

Just a matter of time,
just a matter of time.

Uh, I'm sorry, folks.

This is a family-only shelter.

This is a family.

These are my three children.

He's from my second marriage.

Sophie!

I haven't seen you for ages.

And look how your
family has grown.

And isn't she a beauty.

Yes, she is, she is.

It's a wonder how those
years of braces paid off.

Mm.

Okay, men to the
right, women upstairs.

All right.

Hold on, my man.

Deluxe accommodations,

just like Desert Storm
without the sand.

All right, you can
go right upstairs.

Oh, I can't sleep upstairs.

Tess, what a relief.
Where have you been?

Well, you have to go upstairs.

Whether you sleep
or not is up to you.

Well, I can't.

Now, where's Tom?

It's Tom's night off.

Now, upstairs or outside.

It's your choice.

Well, do you have a
room with no windows?

Outside!

No, oh, I can't. I can't.

Come on upstairs,
Sophie. No, I can't!

It'll be okay, really.

It'll be okay. I can't.

No, it'll be fine.

She will think of something.

I can't. Come on, come on.

Which way?

I'm a Marine. I'm a Marine.

I can't go away.

Um, uh... I ca... I
can't... I can't move.

I can't move.

No... Sarge, I can't move!

Listen... I can't move!

Wake up. Don't...

Wake up. Hey,
hey, you're all right.

Oh, damn.

Oh, I hate... I
hate those things.

Yeah.

I get nightmares, too.

Oh, no, not like
this, you don't.

War stuff?

Yeah.

I'm in the, uh...
I'm in the desert

in the middle of a fire fight

and... and everybody knows

there's land mines
all over the place,

but nobody knows
where the hell they are.

And I know I'm
going to die if I move

and I know I'm going

to die if I don't move.

You're dreaming the
wrong kind of dreams, man.

What's that supposed to mean?

You can't waste your time
dreaming about the past.

You've got to stick to
dreaming about the future.

Being a Marine was
the one thing I did best.

You know, I belonged
to something.

I mean, that's who I was.

And who are you now?

I don't know.

I know.

You're a guy who can't
even think about next week,

'cause you're busy just
trying to get through today.

But thinking like that,

that's what's going to
keep you on the streets.

You've got to have a dream

bigger than where you're
going to sleep tonight.

You got any family?

I've got, I've got a
brother, but we don't talk.

I don't talk.

Next quarter you get, man...

you put it in the phone.

Oh, God.

Oh, no.

No... who the hell got it?

Hey, hey, who took it?

Huh?

Who took my bag?

Hey, wake up! My bag!

Who's got my bag?

Who the hell took my bag?

No, no, no, somebody
stole my bag.

Wake up, you bastards!

Come on, give it back to me!

My bag!

Go back to bed or
you're going outside.

No, no, not until I get my bag!

No, no!

Please, I've got to
get my bag back!

Come on. No, no,
no, please, stop!

State your business.

What is that?

Whiskey?

First sip free, then
you got to pay.

I've got a good
pair of boots here.

They'll last a lot
longer than that.

I'll trade you my boots

for your shoes and that bottle.

Okay, I'll let you out,

but you can't come back in.

This isn't a
revolving door hotel.

I know, thank you. Good night.

Oh, Father, why have
You forsaken me?

What did I do wrong?

Why are you punishing me?

Why have you taken
away who I am, what I am?

I-I-I don't even feel
like an angel anymore.

You don't even
have to be an angel

to give that man what
he needs right now.

Oh, Tess.

I-I thought that...

Has God ever
forsaken you, Monica?

He told you He wouldn't
and He never has.

Never.

Just because you feel invisible

doesn't mean that you are.

Never give up, baby.

Oh, Tess.

Maybe now you know
how it feels to be forgotten.

To be stripped of everything

you think makes you you.

Hmm?

Hmm?

What did you ask
Him for just now?

Did you ask Him for food?

Did you ask Him to
make you warmer?

I asked to be remembered.

I needed to know
that I still mattered.

And so does he.

You've been acting
like a case worker

and treating him
like he's a case.

But he's a man, Monica.

And he needs to know that
he can still make a difference.

And you've got to let him.

How?

First, by realizing this
is not a punishment.

This is your lesson in pride.

I feel so ashamed.

Oh, shame just brings you down,

but true humility...
that lifts you high up.

Pete?

Pete.

Hello.

I, uh...

Pete, I need to
ask a favor of you.

Just... leave me alone.

I just... I just need you

to listen to me for
a moment, please.

Please.

I, uh...

I'm an angel.

I know that sounds crazy.

No, not around here.

But proving it to you

doesn't really matter
to me at the moment.

You see, I... I must
apologize to you.

I, um, I guess I was getting

awfully big for my
wings, you see,

and there were a few
things that I needed to learn

about being an angel.

Please...

there's something
that I need to do.

I want to do.

It's what I need to do
to remember who I am.

Please.

I don't know why these
things have happened to you,

but it's not because of
anything that you've done.

And I have to confess that...

you see, there was
somewhere, deep inside my heart,

that I thought maybe, you...

well, maybe you had
done something to get here.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

It matters.

I... forgive you.

Oh, my God.

God loves you...
Peter Jacob Taylor.

I have failed you,
but he will not.

He wants you to know
that he's going to take you

and Julie to Colorado.

He will walk with
you all the way.

But it's up to you
to take the first step.

I guess that's what I
was here for all along.

Now, where was it exactly

we met again?

Do you remember when
you lived on Cherry Street?

Well, that's
privileged information.

I know, but I have

a high-level security clearance.

And Sophie,

I want to tell you that
nobody blames you

for closing up shop

and high-tailing
it out of there.

In fact, I gave you the ride.

The cab driver.

I got my own rig now.

You ought to see it.

It's a nice, big, red thing.

But Sophie, those
years of fear are over.

It's safe to go home now.

Your husband's gone

and he can't ever
hurt you again.

I never know what
direction it's coming from.

Sometimes from the underpass,

sometimes from the grassy knoll,

sometimes they just
push you out the window.

Oh, I know.

I know.

But you can relax now.

Let me show you something.

This just got put on the board.

Your children

and your grandchildren
are looking for you.

They miss you.

They want to take care
of you and protect you.

Come on, let's go
make a phone call.

Look, I got these scarves,

and I'm going to give
them to you cheap,

but you've got to give me cash.

Mr. Ox, I would
like a word with you

in private, please.

Oh, yeah, sure, baby.

Step into my office.

Hey, how'd you get
so clean, woman?

I believe you have something

that doesn't belong to you.

Oh, I got a lot of
things like that, baby.

Which one you talking about?

It's metal. A
tube-like container.

It was appropriated last night.

Ah. Well, I'm positive
I never seen it,

but, uh, if I did happen
to come across it,

what's it worth to you?

I am afraid I have
nothing to offer.

Oh, yeah?

I always knew you and
me, we'd do some business.

The ring for the can, Ox.

And a quarter.

And a quarter? Sure.

Good morning.

I'd like to use the showers.

Sure, let me just
have you sign in here.

Showers are located to the back

of this room here on my right.

♪ When you walk ♪

♪ Down the road ♪

♪ Heavy burden ♪

♪ Heavy load... ♪

♪ I will rise ♪

♪ And I will walk with you ♪

♪ When you walk ♪

♪ Through the night ♪

♪ And you feel like
just giving up the fight ♪

♪ I will comfort you ♪

♪ And you will rise ♪

♪ And I will walk with you ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Till the sun don't shine ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Every time ♪

♪ I will walk with you. ♪